Kyrsten Sinema's advisers are jumping ship as senator's poll numbers drop

The Daily Beast reported, citing the New York Times, Thursday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is losing friends along with support among voters in her state.

Five military veterans have resigned from a board advising Sinema on policy issues.

"In a letter to Sinema, they confronted her with a litany of offenses—accusing her of using them as 'window dressing' for her political brand, ignoring their recommendations, and going back on her campaign promises to protect voting access and reduce the price of prescription drugs," said the report.

"Are you choosing to answer to big donors and lobbyists rather than Arizonans?" they asked in the letter. "These are not the actions of a maverick."

It's an accusation that Sinema has faced over the past several months after a slew of fundraisers were the only way that Arizona constituents could interact with the senator because she's didn't host any public meetings or town halls during the August recess.

Sinema revealed that she opposed President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan because it includes raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. Zip Recruiter reported that the average annual salary in Arizona is a little over $57,000

"Sinema's objections could well reduce the size of that legislation by at least $1 trillion and scuttle elements that are broadly popular in the party—like raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for investments in health care and energy," said the report. "Unlike fellow objector Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sinema has largely been silent on her positions through negotiations, exasperating Democrats who need her support in order to pass the bill."

Sinema's allies have reportedly been shocked by her leadership in the Senate over her first term. She's growing increasingly isolated and alienating much of her former political network. Already one of her biggest allies is considering running against her and others who helped elect her are now running a PAC against her.

The veterans said that they worked very hard to help her win in 2018, using their own pro-military credentials to help promote her dedication to veterans and soldiers in a state with 500,000 former servicemembers.

"Nobody knows what she is thinking because she doesn't tell anybody anything," Sylvia González Andersh, one of the veterans who served on Sinema's board, told the Times. "It's very sad to think that someone who you worked for that hard to get elected is not even willing to listen."

In the past month, Sinema has lost a lot of support in her state and if the election were held today she would lose. A text poll to registered Arizona Democrats shows that Sinema has an approval rating of 25 percent and a disapproval of 70 percent, with a margin of error of five. By contrast, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) enjoys an 85 percent approval, as does Joe Biden. The decline was so dramatic that one reporter said that it should "terrify" the junior senator.

A Morning Consult poll shows that Sinema's polling among both parties means that she's dropped to 42 percent approval, thanks to the dramatic decrease in Democratic support.

Read the full report at the Daily Beast and the Times.